


The Practical Applications of Attentiveness

by Miss_Nihilist



Series: I Think There's a Fault in My Code [5]
Category: Astro Boy (2009)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Major Character Injury, Near Death, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:08:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25189996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Nihilist/pseuds/Miss_Nihilist
Summary: "How long until your system scan is completed?"Astro gave Tenma an odd look, but answered anyway, "About another minute. Why? Is there something I should be worried about?"
Relationships: Atom | Astro Boy & Dr. Tenma | Dr. Boynton
Series: I Think There's a Fault in My Code [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1767133
Comments: 10
Kudos: 61





	The Practical Applications of Attentiveness

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for this one is "doesn't realize they've been injured." I don't think I stuck to the theme very well, but that's life.

Dinner was packed away and vacuum-sealed in plastic-substitute packaging to serve as leftovers for the next day. Doctor Tenma could have had Orrin do it, and the housekeeping robot had offered, but he found something calming in the methodical motions. It used to be that he never had leftovers but, well, his son didn't eat anymore and Tenma was hardly a heavy eater.

Tenma glanced at his watch and couldn't fight the scowl inching its way onto his face. It was nearly eight o'clock. Astro had left hours ago and Tenma hadn't heard from him, not so much as a cursory text. The holo-TV was on in the other room, not because Tenma was watching it but because he wanted to know the instant that there was a breaking news bulletin. Anymore, it was almost always about his son.

He was just placing the leftovers in the refrigerator when the rush of an engine had Tenma tensing. The leftovers were left on the counter and he scrambled to the living room, prying open the balcony door. There were a few seconds where it was so bright that Tenma had to look away as Astro hovered over their balcony, his rockets pushing out intense heat and light. They were cut out swiftly though, and metal clicked on concrete as Astro landed gently.

"Hey, dad," he greeted. Tenma opened his eyes in time to see Astro's hesitant little wave. "Sorry I'm late. There was this guy, and…"

A shake of the head was enough to cut Astro off and Tenma waved him inside, stepping back from the door to make room. "No need to explain, son. Come inside so I can get a good look at you."

The pretense of an apology faded and there was a flicker of worry on Astro's face. That was quickly hidden behind annoyance and he rolled his eyes, staying right where he was. "Oh, come on, dad. You do this every time I come home. It turns out that I'm pretty durable. You don't have to fuss over me like a little kid," he argued.

How Astro felt about the checkups didn't factor in at all. Tenma narrowed his eyes. It hasn't escaped his notice that his son had yet to step out of the darkened balcony and into the light. "Astro," he said firmly. "Don't make me repeat myself."

Technically, there was no reason that Astro _had_ to listen to him. Much as Tenma liked to ignore it, he wasn't an idiot. He had designed Astro to be very powerful and then given him free will. There was nothing in his programming that compelled Astro to obey, not like other robots.

But of course, Astro had the mind of a thirteen-year-old boy, so he just sighed and listened to his father, begrudgingly stepping into the penthouse.

As soon as Tenma finally saw him in the light, he understood why Astro had been against it. His clothes were torn and filthy but, more worrisome, he was littered in scratches. One cut on Astro's forearm was deep enough to expose the wiring and he had a noticeable dent in the side of his head.

"Christ," Tenma muttered, taking it all in. Already, he was running through the necessary repairs and possible internal damage to check for. He glanced up at Astro's face and wasn't surprised to see his son looking away. "How did all of this happen?"

It hadn't been an accusation or a shout, but Astro winced. Tenma did his best to pretend that he hadn't noticed. They were working on it. "There were a bunch of protesters at one of the construction sights," Astro said hesitantly. "You know, one of the ones trying to get Metro City up in the air. They were trying to stop the construction and it got out of hand." He pressed a hand over the gash in his arm, grimacing. "I mean, it was just construction equipment, but I couldn't destroy them without hurting someone. One of them got me pretty good with a wrecking ball."

Tenma glanced at the dent in his son's head and felt a flash of anger. "Did they now?" He asked airily, trying to keep his emotions in check. Ranting and raving weren't going to make Astro feel better and it wasn't going to get him the repairs that he needed, either. "Well, I'll have to get my welding kit for that cut and patch it along with the rest of those cuts by using some synthetic skin. That dent can be evened out. It's not a problem as long as it isn't putting pressure on anything."

He almost told Astro to go get in the car so that they could head over to the Ministry immediately for repairs, but then Tenma took another look at his son and reconsidered. Astro was slumping in on himself, holding back yawns and looking at Tenma blearily. He was obviously tired. The most extensive repairs could be put off until Astro rested.

For that reason, Tenma put a smile on his face. "Sit at the kitchen table so I can wrap your arm. We'll head to the Ministry tomorrow morning to do the repairs, first thing," he promised.

Astro perked up. "Really?" It sounded like he didn't believe it. When all Tenma did was nod, though, Astro grinned and hurried over to sit at the table.

With that taken care of, Tenma shut the balcony door and took a quick detour to his home office. Bandaging the injury wouldn't keep Astro from bleeding out, obviously, but it would keep the wires from getting caught on anything and prevent Astro from accidentally starting an electrical fire if something began to spark. He kept industrial bandaging for Astro and Orrin both in his desk drawer.

Bandages in hand, Tenma also grabbed a small, portable computer before returning to the kitchen. Astro was sitting right where he'd been told to, waiting patiently. He was still yawning, but he was kicking his feet back and forth idly and looked a lot less anxious.

"Alright, here we are," Tenma announced as he approached. He tugged at the bandaging to get a strip to come loose but, before actually using it, gestured for Astro to lift his non-injured hand. "I want you to run a system scan while I'm bandaging you. You know how to do that, don't you?"

Normally, Tenma had machines that would scan Astro's system for him back at the lab. He had never asked Astro to do it himself, but all robots were plenty capable of doing so. Tenma just found the other way more convenient.

"Yes, dad," Astro said with an eye roll. The attitude was unnecessary, but Tenma chose to ignore it.

When Astro flicked open the tip of his pointer finger, a USB port was waiting. Tenma took hold of Astro's wrist and plugged his small computer into it, attaching the USB cable before setting it on the table next to them. Numbers and system commands flashed across the screen as Astro processed his scan faster than the screen could keep up with. Satisfied, Tenma turned back to the main task.

The bandaging process was easy enough. Tenma ran his fingers over the cut, making sure that nothing was dripping. "So, what was your plan, exactly?" He asked in a soft voice. He didn't want Astro to think that he was upset. "Were you going to go to bed and hope that I didn't notice the dents and scratches?"

"It's just the one dent," Astro muttered. He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm fine. I wanted to put it off until morning, you know? It's nothing serious and you're always tired when you get back from work, anyway."

Tenma knew that it was his fault, but it still hurt to hear. He had hoped that he'd been a better father than that over the years. He took a breath and ignored it. That just meant that he needed to work harder at improving. "I'm never too tired to take care of you, Astro," he said gently. "You should come to me about these things. It's essential to catch injuries before they get out of hand. I bet you didn't even run a system scan on the flight home, did you?" There was a bit of dampness around the cut in Astro's arm. Curious, Tenma dipped his fingers slightly past the skin to feel the tube it was leaking from, then brought his fingers up to his nose to smell it.

"Well, no," Astro admitted, looking sheepish. "I was going to once I got in bed, I swear. I— Dad? Is something wrong?" He frowned, having noticed the look on Tenma's face.

It took a moment, but Tenma eventually found the right words. "This smell… It's sweet." He rubbed his fingers together, feeling the consistency, and his frown deepened. "How long until your system scan is completed?"

Astro gave him an odd look, but answered anyway, "About another minute. Why? Is there something I should be worried about?"

Rather than answering, Tenma grabbed his computer and stood up. "I'm not sure yet," he admitted. "But even if it's minor, this isn't something that we should just leave for tomorrow. Come with me. I'll have Orrin bring the car around. We need to get to the Ministry immediately."

"Immediately?" Astro repeated, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "If it's that bad, I can always fly us—"

"No, absolutely not," interrupted Tenma sharply. "As a matter of fact, try to do as little as possible. The less energy you expend, the better. Actually, now that I think of it… Hold this." He took Astro's wrist and pressed the computer into his palm. With his hands free, Tenma yanked his phone out of his pocket and sent a quick order to Orrin. It was faster than wandering the penthouse looking for his housekeeping robot and was a lot easier, too.

"What's the big deal? It's just a little leak, right? Dad, can you at least tell me what— hey!" Astro's complaints were cut off by a shout as he was lifted off of the ground and into his dad's arms. Tenma slid one hand under Astro's knees, the other supporting his back, and tucked his son against his chest.

"When I told you to spend as little energy as possible, that included talking," Doctor Tenma snapped. He was glad that he'd been thorough in Astro's design. Getting such a powerful robot to weight no more than one-hundred pounds hadn't been easy, but it was definitely worth it. Tenma jogged down the stairs and toward the front door, doing his best not to jostle his cargo. Astro, although obviously pouting, was at least being compliant and listening. The little furrow between his brows gave away his concern. As Tenma moved, he started talking. "If I'm right, and I honestly hope that I'm not for once, then you have a coolant leak. If it's just in your arm, then not much will be damaged, but if the entire coolant supply has been compromised, then the energy of the Blue Core will completely fry your wires and circuits in no more than fifteen minutes. I must not have reinforced it well-enough against blunt collisions." He cursed, loudly.

He saw Astro's eyes widen with concern but, other than that, there was no outward reaction. Tenma had no idea how hard it must be for Astro to keep himself together when the threat of a painful death was staring him in the face. Honestly, Tenma was barely keeping himself calm. The weight of Astro in his arms helped keep him grounded.

Thankfully, Orrin was waiting outside with the limo when Tenma got to the penthouse lobby and shouldered his way through the door. There were a few people around, but they all moved out of the way when they saw him coming. Years of being snappy and ornery had taught Tenma's neighbors not to talk to him and he had never been more grateful for it.

He shifted Astro into one arm to get the car door open and slid him in as carefully as he could, given his rush, before following. "To the Ministry, Orrin," Tenma demanded before the door was even shut. "Don't worry about the roads or speed limits. I'll take full blame for any damages caused by your reckless driving, just get us there as fast as possible."

"Yes, sir." Orrin nodded tersely and, though he was visibly anxious and wanted to ask what was going on, he turned his attention to the road and the limo jerked into motion as he choked down on the thruster.

Tenma almost fell over, but caught himself, putting an arm over Astro's chest to keep him in the seat as well. A beep caught his attention and Tenma scrambled to grab the computer that was still plugging into Astro. He didn't bother to remove the USB, frantically scanning the results as fast as he could to find what he needed. When he did, Tenma's breath audibly hitched.

Unable to help himself, Astro shifted nervously and spoke up. "What's it say, dad?"

There was a moment where Tenma couldn't bring himself to move. Then he unplugged the computer and set his hands on Astro's shoulders, gently pushing him down to be laying across the back of the limo. Astro let himself be laid down, though he was still clearly confused.

For what he was about to ask, Tenma knew that Astro deserved an explanation. He just had to be quick about it. "You have several coolant leaks in your limbs and joints. The main pumping system has been knocked out of place so, even if the circulation system wasn't damaged, it wouldn't be moving efficiently enough. To be honest, Astro, you're about ten minutes away from suffering a meltdown that will destroy you from the inside out." Tenma didn't mention that the meltdown would also more than likely destroy Metro City and be visible for hundreds of miles. He didn't want Astro to freak out and accelerate the limited time that they had. "So, this is the hard part." He set a hand on Astro's chest, of his access panel, and felt a guilty clench as his son winced and his eyes widened with fear. "I need to shut you down," Tenma muttered.

Of course, Astro protested. He gaped and nearly shot up, and would have if Tenma hadn't kept a firm hand on his chest. The less that Astro moved, the better. "You're going to shut me off?" He asked, unable to keep from sounding hurt. Astro's hand twitched, probably wanting to set his over top of Tenma's, but he remembered himself and managed to stay still. "You promised that you would never do that again."

His tone wasn't accusatory. Rather, it came off as betrayed and that only made Tenma feel worse. He grimaced. "Astro, believe me, I don't want to do this either, but I want to prevent you from dying more. I can repair your body, but with the flow of coolant to your artificial brain slowing, well… At that point, it would be like making someone entirely new." Tenma lifted his hand from Astro's chest and set it over his hand instead, curling their fingers together and giving a soft squeeze. "I'm not in the market for another son," he promised. "I just want you, Astro. Now, please. Let me be the one protecting you for once."

Tenma wasn't great at being emotionally vulnerable or honest, but he knew that he must have said something right when Astro let out a soft breath and blinked back tears. There was a smile on his face: shaky and uncertain, but there nonetheless. That was a start.

"You promise that I'll wake up?" Astro asked softly.

Relaxing some, Tenma nodded and managed a smile of his own. "Always," he promised. "This isn't a goodbye, Astro. You're just going to go to sleep for a few hours."

Astro cracked a grin that quickly faded. But he nodded, which was the permission that Tenma needed. "I'll see you when I wake up, dad."

Letting go of Astro's hand, he quickly reached for the access panel again. Tenma didn't hesitate the second time and, thankfully, Astro didn't recoil from him. "Of course," he agreed. "I love you, Astro."

The panel was pried open, bathing the limo in a soft, comforting blue light. Rather than removing the Core, there was a little switch that would cut off its energy circulation. Tenma held his son's gaze and flicked it.

Immediately, Astro's eyes went half-lidded and he slumped as all tension left his posture. "I love you, too… dad," he managed, voice slurring with tiredness. The light of the Blue Core made his features soft as his eyes closed. Staring at him, so peaceful, Tenma could almost pretend that Astro really _was_ just sleeping.

The moment was ruined when the limo came to a screeching stop, flinging Tenma from the seat. He hardly cared, anyway. They had barely stopped when Tenma flung the door open, gathering his sleeping son into his arms once again. "Thank you, Orrin," Tenma said absent-mindedly. "You can go home. I'll take it from here."

He didn't bother to wait for an answer. With Astro propped up against his chest, his chin resting on Tenma's shoulder, he marched toward the Ministry with purpose. In a minute, he would have all available personnel getting everything ready in his workshop. In five, he would have his tools and safety gear ready. In thirty, he would be elbow-deep in his son's chest, finding exactly what he needed without having to look because Astro's blueprints were seared into the back of his eyelids. And in another two hours, Astro would be opening his eyes and the first thing that Tenma would do was hug his son.

One thing at a time, though. Tenma wasn't going to get ahead of himself. He had been a bad father in the past, but never again.

He wasn't about to let his son die twice.

**Author's Note:**

> **Feel free to check out my Astro Boy blog[HERE](https://astroboy2003sub.tumblr.com) for updates on my writing and other Astro Boy content!**


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